


Regrettable Instincts

by epicmusic42



Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst and Porn, Biting, Dom/sub, Gags, Impact Play, M/M, Marking, Multi, Other, Polyamorous Mechanisms (The Mechanisms), Safeword Use, Whipping, discussion of bondaries, doc carmilla's a+ parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:28:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25758109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epicmusic42/pseuds/epicmusic42
Summary: All of the Mechs have habits that occasionally cause issues with their partners. Tim's instinct to bite, regardless of what's in his mouth, is particularly troublesome though. Over the years, they've gotten better at keeping it from being an issue, but that isn't always the case.
Relationships: Ashes O'Reilly/Gunpowder Tim, Drumbot Brian/Ashes O'Reilly/Gunpowder Tim, Drumbot Brian/Gunpowder Tim, Jonny d'Ville/Gunpowder Tim, Poly Mechs, The Mechanisms Ensemble/The Mechanisms Ensemble
Comments: 25
Kudos: 79
Collections: Stowaways NSFW 2020





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [Juan_Pujol_Garcia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juan_Pujol_Garcia/pseuds/Juan_Pujol_Garcia) in the [stowaways_nsfw_2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/stowaways_nsfw_2020) collection. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Content Warnings:  
> \- dom/sub relationship  
> \- implied/referenced biting  
> \- implied/referenced gagging

If there was one thing that Ashes could say about each of their subs, it was that they were certainly unique.

Jonny and Ivy may both be eternal brats, but Ivy was the one who actively refused to submit. Raphaella and Brian were both rarely on their knees for them, but Brian was the one who helped keep the others in line. Marius and Lyf may be well behaved most of the time, but Lyf was the one who encouraged their brats.

Tim though. Tim was a special case.

He seemed to change hir behavior to fit against whomever else was involved. If Ashes had both hir and Jonny at their feet he was an angel. If they had Marius at their feet beside hir instead of Jonny, then he could almost get worse than either of their brats. If they told him to take another of their subs down he’d do so without hesitation and take great pleasure in it.

The one thing that never changed was hir tendency to bite.

It wasn’t the worst problem he could have. It still caused issues at times though.

Like now.

Currently Brian was sitting cross-legged at their feet. The plan _had_ been for them to take him down and tell him how to take care of them.

Instead, Brian was holding still while they slowly picked teeth shards out of his shoulder.

Not the way they generally preferred to spend their time. They would much prefer to be worshipped. But Nastya wasn’t exactly available and if Brian let Tim pick them out he’d just kick up a fuss about how he really didn’t mind that hir teeth inevitably got destroyed continuously from biting Brian, from biting gags, from biting the fucking floor in one memorable instance.

So instead of getting eaten out, Ashes was removing one of their pet’s teeth from another of their pets. 

“This is the third time Tim’s bit you this week, isn’t it?”

“Yes Ser. It’s the thirteenth time this month as well.”

That didn’t sound good. Ashes was pretty sure that this was only the third week of the month. Which meant that Tim had bit Brian more than three times at least one of the previous weeks.

“I had thought we were past this for the most part. What on Malone changed?”

Brian didn't answer. Rude, but they’d allow it since they hadn’t been clear they were speaking to him.

“How many gags did he break?”

Silence.

Ashes raised an eyebrow.

That wasn’t a good sign.

"Brian." They let the threat of violence creep into their voice.

"Two," he whispered in reply. "Wanted to give him a chance. He's been good with everyone else lately."

Ashes sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Considering that I still have to gag him if I don't want to walk away bleeding, I doubt that. He's just gotten a lot better about not biting someplace it's liable to be an issue."

Brian hummed in response.

They idly made a mental note to take him down more often in the next few weeks. He obviously needed it if he was balancing this much on the edge.

“I buy you gags so that you don’t have to remove hir teeth from yourself. If you don’t want to gag hir then you need to find a solution that doesn’t result in hir biting you. I think at this point it’s safe to say that he won’t actually be improving, just getting better at biting less problematic spots”

Brian grumbled slightly as they fished the last couple pieces out of his shoulder.

Seizing his hair, they pulled his head back.

Given the way his eyes fluttered they could only assume he’d been hoping for them to get rougher with him. Well. Two could play at that game.

They gently brushed their lips over his.

Brian was theirs for now. They’d worry about addressing the issue of Tim later.

“Turn around, _tesoro.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
>  _tesoro.”_ -> Italian term of endearment, lit. treasure. Used similarly to pet or dear in English
> 
> If I missed any content warnings feel free to let me know and I'll add them.
> 
> Quick Comments Reaction Code (basically, react using these and it acts as an auto comment button):  
> ❤️️ = I love this story!  
> 😳 = this was hot!  
> 💐 = thank you for sharing this  
> 🍵 = tea spilled  
> 🍬 = so sweet and fluffy!  
> 🚔 = you’re under arrest! the writing’s too good!  
> 😲 = I NEED THE NEXT CHAPTER  
> 😢 = you got me right in the feels  
> 🤯 = mind blown  
> 🤬 = god damn cliffhanger  
> 😫 = whyyyyyyy?!?!?  
> (Thanks to violetsmoak for the comment code)


	2. Messing Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim's been around long enough to pick up on some things. Some things, aren't obvious until you've already fucked up though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Content Warnings:  
> \- Biting, marking  
> \- rough foreplay  
> \- safeword use  
> \- discussion of boundaries/past trauma

Jonny was slowly circling around Tim. His pistol had been abandoned in the kitchen along with Tim’s, at least one harmonica smashed as they fought. A savage grin was painted across his face.

Tim’s heart was pounding.

By now he and Jonny had fallen into bed together often enough that he knew how this would end. Jonny pinned under him, moaning as Tim fucked him.

That didn’t prevent Tim from getting a thrill out of this game of chase where he was prey.

Jonny still telegraphed half his moves despite apparently being immortal. He was tense, but swaying slightly from side to side like a cat as he locked eyes with Tim.

Tim tensed as Jonny launched himself at him.

Despite how much height he had on the first mate, Tim still went down. He should have known better than to think he could actually stay standing when Jonny hit him with his full body weight.

Jonny scrambled for his wrists, presumably to try and pin hir down. Tim was faster though.

It wasn’t difficult to flip them over. He may not have planned on landing under Jonny, but he had planned to get a hold on him. With hir arms already wrapped around Jonny all he had to do was roll to the side.

Jonny arched for a split second when Tim’s weight settled over him before beginning to thrash. His hands darted up to claw at Tim’s sides.

Tim pressed a quick kiss to his lips before shifting to try and grab for one of his wrists. Instead he got teeth sinking into hir lips harshly.

Tim couldn’t help but yelp.

It gave Jonny the opportunity to flip them back over, snatching Tim’s arms up to hold hir in place. He straddled Tim’s hips, grinding down as he thrust his tongue into hir mouth.

Tim arched into it, just enjoying it for several moments.

He let hir arms go limp in Jonny’s hold. He rolled hir hips up into Jonny’s. He whimpered into the rough kisses Jonny forced on hir lips.

When Jonny started to relax, secure in his hold on Tim - he surged upwards.

It was a simple manner to pull hir hands free and grab onto Jonny.

He didn’t fight as Tim bowled them both over so he was pinned beneath him. A moan already falling from his lips as Tim shoved a leg between his and pressed down hard. He wasn’t really fighting as he tugged against the hold Tim had on his left wrist. The second Tim jerked his head to the side with a hand pulling tight on his hair, he keened.

Tim stopped for a moment, just to watch as Jonny’s eyes started to unfocus. Pleasure trickled down hir spine as he watched Jonny start to lean into the submission - not enough that he’d stop fighting, of course. The day Jonny submitted willingly would be a cold day in hell indeed. But he sunk down enough that Tim could tell he was more interested in getting fucked than fighting now.

Tim ducked down and kissed him, teeth clashing together as he forced hir way into Jonny’s mouth and got bit for hir trouble. Given that Jonny had only drawn blood instead of taking hir tongue off it was probably a safe bet that Jonny really just wanted to be fucked.

He shifted to begin mouthing along Jonny’s jaw, biting down every few centimetres hard enough to draw blood.

Jonny arched up into hir, moans and not quite whimpers ringing in hir ears.

Tim dragged hir tongue down the side of Jonny’s neck earning hirself a shiver. He grabbed at the collar of Jonny’s shirt with hir teeth, dragging it to the side before leaving a row of bloody bites across his collar bone.

By this point Jonny was rutting up against Tim’s thigh.

He chuckled. “What’s the matter, love? Do you need something?”

He didn’t bother waiting for an answer before sinking hir teeth into the side of Jonny’s neck.

.

.

.

Jonny was completely still beneath hir.

There was a long pause before he started trembling.

“R- red. Red.”

_What?!?_

Tim released his throat and rolled to the side as quickly as he could. By the time he sat up, a question on hir lips, Jonny had already scrambled back and was pressing himself back against the couch.

“G-get. Get away from the door.”

Tim launched across the room so he was as far from the door as possible.

Jonny flinched.

_Shit. Fuck._

_What the hell had happened?_

He could just barely make out the sound of Jonny’s muttering.

“-didn’t mean it. He wouldn’t do that. He can’t. He wouldn’t. It’s fine.”

What the hell had he done?

They’d been rough housing just like normal and he’d shifted it towards sex instead of just fighting. Normally that had Jonny eager, not calling it.

What had been different about this time?

It’d been a good couple of minutes at this point and Jonny was rocking slightly as he continued muttering though it’d become less and less intelligible.

“J-Jonny? What did I-” He cut hirself off. Jonny was obviously distressed. Asking what he did wouldn’t help him right now.

“How can I help you right now?”

“C-can’t.” Jonny’s head was shaking hard enough that Tim would be worried about him shaking it off if he didn’t know better.

“A-Ashes. Or Brian. Brian’s pro’ly bedder. No-not as hard for-or for him.”

“Okay. Okay.” Tim took a deep breath trying to calm hirself. “Do you want me to go get him? I-”

_“Don’t go!”_

Jonny sounded terrified.

Tim had fucked up so bad.

"Okay. Um. I can ask Aurora to send him here?"

"O-okay."

"Aurora? Um. You there?"

"Yes."

The screen that extended from the wall showed a blatantly terse reply.

"Um. Could you please get Brian? Uh- tell-"

"He is on his way."

Tim fucked up badly.

 _Aurora_ was even mad at hir.

“Okay. Okay. Thank you Aurora. Um. Jonny? Brian’s on his way. Is there- can I- how can I help until he gets here?”

Jonny had his knees pulled up to his chest and was rocking back and forth.

Tim’s chest ached as he watched Jonny struggle to get words out.

How could he have done this to him?

He should have been paying more attention. Should have realized that something was wrong.

“St-stay where I can-an see-e you.”

Okay.

Okay. Tim could do that.

He crept slightly closer to Jonny and slid down to sit across from him against the couch, making sure to keep Jonny closer to the door than hirself.

It still made Jonny flinch. The whimper he let out was barely audible.

“Sorry. I um. I-” Tim stumbled over hir words as he tried to apologize.

“T-talk to me? Need-ed to know I’m not. not with her.”

With her?

Oh.

Oh fuck.

He was talking about Carmilla wasn’t he?

Tim didn’t know enough to know what he’d done to remind Jonny of her.

He could talk though. He could talk to Jonny.

“Yeah. Yeah, I can do that. Um. You actually kept me safe from her a lot, you know? Made sure I never met her.”

Jonny always leaned into praise. Tim had seen some of the recordings Ivy had of performances from before he’d joined the crew and Carmilla had taken her space walk. Jonny constantly put himself in between her and the rest of the crew.

Telling Jonny how much he did to take care of Tim and keep hir safe would help right?

* * *

Brian walked into the commons louder than he normally did. Normally his footsteps were heavy, but smooth enough that they didn't register as anything other than Aurora.

Right now they sounded like he was running even though Tim could see they were just as measured as always.

"Aurora said there was a probl-"

He cut himself off as he saw them, his eyes flicking between Jonny and Tim for a moment.

"H-he bit me."

Jonny's voice startled Tim. He hadn't been expecting him to volunteer information so easily.

"Okay. I'd really like to hold you when you can handle that, Jonny. If I go sit next to Tim is that gonna make it harder to let me?"

Jonny shook his head.

Brian's steps were measured in a different way than normal as he walked over to Tim.

They echoed around the room instead of absorbing their own sound.

He held out a hand to Tim with an almost fragile looking smile as he slid down to sit next to hir.

Tim stared at it for a moment.

Why would he take it?

Why Brian offer it?

Obviously Tim fucked up somehow. Probably didn't bother paying attention to Jonny when he should have and then when he didn't stop Jonny had to call red.

"Tim?"

Brian's voice was gentle as he prodded at Tim.

Tim took his hand. He looked away and didn't move any closer even though he knew it had been an offer of cuddling.

Brian sighed and let go to wrap an arm around hir. He was dragged into Brian's side before Brian let go and moved his arm back to tangled their hands together.

"Do you think you could fill me in on what happened, Tim?"

He nodded. He pressed hir face into Brian’s shoulder, enjoying the comfort while he still was allowed. Brian was shaking with rage he was sure.

“We. We were messing around and then Jonny let me keep him held down so I started- We started making out. And then when I bit down on his neck he just froze and h-he called red. Said to get away from the door and that you-ou’d be able to explain easier when I asked. Said to stay where he could see me and to talk to him when I asked how I could help.”

The entire time Tim was stumbling hir way through his explanation, Brian kept gently rubbing his thumb across the side of hir index finger.

As Tim quieted, Brian heaved a sigh. “Okay. Okay. That’s ...not great.”

Jonny suddenly darted across the room and deposited himself in Brian’s lap, wrapping his arms around Brian’s neck and seeming to cling. Given that it was _Jonny_ that didn’t seem right, but that was the only way Tim could explain what he was doing.

Brian brought his other arm up to hold Jonny tight against him.

“Okay. Um. Did we actually explain anything about _Her_ to you?”

Not really?

Tim knew some stuff. They’d told hir that she was horrid and to stay away from her if she ever showed up again. He’d inferred more. It was obvious that she didn’t quite understand some concepts that should be basic from how big of a deal the others had made about _asking_ permission to do anything if he didn’t know for sure it was fine, especially with touching them.

“I- I don’t think so? You’ve told me a bit? But I’m kinda...um.”

“It’s fine.” Brian squeezed hir hand softly. “She uh. She’s- She was? She is? Um. She’s a vampire. She ...used everyone except Nastya and I to feed.”

Oh. Oh no.

And Tim had bit Jonny’s neck.

Fuck.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Why hadn’t he been paying better attention. There was no way Jonny hadn’t been telegraphing his discomfort and Tim had just kept going.

A hand smacked hir face.

Tim blinked.

Jonny was still buried in Brian’s chest, but he was holding a hand out at Tim and making grabbing motions.

Cautiously Tim brought hir free hand up to move Jonny’s away from hir face.

Instead Jonny grabbed it and dragged it to himself.

There was a pause as Tim felt Jonny arrange hir hand so he could feel the half-healed bites along his collar and shoulders.

Tim swallowed. He opened hir mouth, intending to apologize.

“I- I liked these.”

What?

“They’re nice. Felt good. Just. Forgot I was with you for a moment when you went higher. ...Don’t do that again.”

Okay. Okay.

Tim could do that.

He wasn’t going to risk biting Jonny’s neck again.

He _wouldn’t_. That had been terrifying for hir. He couldn’t imagine how bad it must have been for Jonny.

“Al-alright. I won’t. Promise.”

He swallowed.

“I’m sorry. I sho-”

“Shut up.”

Jonny didn’t sound angry. He didn’t sound like it was actually okay either though.

“You can stuff your apologies where the sun don’t shine. Just don’t do it again. ...Just. come here already.”

Tim was tugged to move closer so he went with it. He detangled hir hand from Jonny so he could wrap hir arm around him as he moved to sit behind him in Brian’s lap.

Brian squeezed hir hand again before dropping it and wrapping an arm around hir.

Tim wasn’t going to risk biting Jonny’s neck again. He wouldn’t hurt him like that. He would have to make sure he didn’t bite Ivy or Ashes necks either.

...It was fine. Not hurting them was more important than hir wanting to get fucked anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I missed any content warnings feel free to let me know and I'll add them.
> 
> Quick Comments Reaction Code (basically, react using these and it acts as an auto comment button):  
> ❤️️ = I love this story!  
> 😳 = this was hot!  
> 💐 = thank you for sharing this  
> 🍵 = tea spilled  
> 🍬 = so sweet and fluffy!  
> 🚔 = you’re under arrest! the writing’s too good!  
> 😲 = I NEED THE NEXT CHAPTER  
> 😢 = you got me right in the feels  
> 🤯 = mind blown  
> 🤬 = god damn cliffhanger  
> 😫 = whyyyyyyy?!?!?  
> (Thanks to violetsmoak for the comment code)


	3. Corrections Needed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim's made some poor choices to deal with hir worry over biting someone. Ashes will have to address this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Content Warnings:  
> \- implied/referenced sexual assault  
> \- panick attack, specifically over worry that another character may have been sexually assaulted  
> \- implied/referenced dehumanization  
> \- heavy dom/sub, implied/referenced master/slave type relationship  
> \- heavy impact play

Ashes was officially done with this.

Tim had just bailed despite them being able to feel how into it he was and made up a blatantly false excuse.

If they hadn’t already fucked hir over nearly every surface they were allowed to fuck hir over (and a few they technically weren’t) or this shift hadn’t been so sudden, they might have been willing to entertain the idea that he was actually uncomfortable regardless of what hir body may have been saying.

Except they had and it had, and if he was actually uncomfortable then there was a serious problem and they were going to be removing some heads. ...Someone would probably be following the good doctor out the airlock as well.

They were fairly confident that Aurora would have said something if someone on the crew would dare-

They doubted it would have taken this long for it to come out if someone was willing to pull something like that. They couldn’t think of anything else that might have caused him to suddenly stop seeking out sex though.

Ashes knew for certain that it had been nearly two months since he’d had sex with either themself or Ivy since Ivy had asked them if she’d done something wrong yesterday.

Given how much more volatile Jonny had been when Tim was near him, they doubted he’d gotten anything from Tim either. Brian hadn’t seemed like there was something weird going on, but he had seemed worried.

...They texted Brian.

**Tesoro**

**[Hey.]**

**[can you come to my room and chat?]**

**[wanna talk about wtf up w tim]**

**[yeah]**

**[same actually]**

**[?]**

**[what have you noticed]**

**[has he tried fucking you at all]**

**[uh. Probably better if we discuss this in person. I’m omw]**

**[yeah, but only when he really needs to be fucked]**

Ashes didn’t bother responding since Brian was bound to arrive pretty much any moment now.

Instead they gave into the urge to pace while they waited for him.

Brian obviously knew something about what had happened - or at least thought he did. They couldn’t imagine he would be the cause, but- but they had been wrong about what kind of person people were before.

After several minutes, Brian knocked on the door.

Distantly Ashes noted that they were shaking slightly as they opened the door.

Brian looked stressed. That was...oddly relieving.

“Hey. Um, are you doing okay?”

They just gestured for him to come in. They wouldn’t- they _couldn’t_ risk admitting what it was they were afraid of until they knew he- until they were certain that he was no more responsible than they were.

“You made it sound like you have an idea what’s going on.”

They knew that they didn’t need to be this cold but they couldn’t. They couldn’t help it. They couldn’t believe that Brian wouldn’t have done something already if something had happened or that _he_ would do something, but until they knew for sure…

“Yeah? I- Ashes. You don’t seem okay. How can I help? I- I can try to deal with this if not. Un- Did something else happen? With Tim?”

“You can help by explaining what you know. Starting by what you mean by something else.” They forced the words out through gritted teeth.

They were starting to fear they might have misjudged Brian.

“I- Everything that I’m aware of started about two months ago. There was a ...situation with Tim and Jonny. Aurora passed a message along asking for me to explain and I thought the situation was resolved. Only Tim’s been a lot less ...I don’t want to say enthusiastic since he hasn’t seemed less into anything. He just. He seems scared to let anything move past kissing with anyone besides me almost? And. And he’s been a lot more hesitant to take it farther with me as well. I managed to get out of Jonny that Tim’s barely even kissed him since and Jonny at least feels like Tim’s avoiding him.”

“What. Was. The. Situation.”

Ashes… Ashes trusted Brian. They believed that he thought the situation was resolved.

They needed to know what the situation _was_ before they could trust that he wasn’t being an idiot.

Brian frowned at them.

After a moment of them staring at each other, he sighed.

“Tim bit Jonny. On the neck.”

_What!?_

_But. Tim was the one- He-_

They could feel hands hovering over their shoulders.

“Ashes? Ashes, can you hear me?”

Right. Brian. They were with Brian.

They let themself slump into him, wrapping their arms around him.

“Hey, hey. Ashes. You with me?”

“I- I’m here. I can hear you. Fin- finish telling me what happened please.”

They could feel Brian hesitating.

“I’m. I’m having trouble not coming up with worst case scenarios. Need you to tell me so I can stop.”

His arms came up to squeeze them tightly.

“It wasn’t that bad actually. We uh. We forgot to tell Tim about the. About _her_ feeding habits. He was fooling around with Jonny and tried moving up to leave a mark on his neck instead of his collar.”

Their own gasp echoed in their ears slightly as they clutched tighter on Brian.

“Jonny had a flashback I think? Freaked him out and he told Tim to have Aurora get me to explain. I filled Tim in and Jonny told him that he liked the marks before he bit his neck so. I had thought it was okay. Except Tim’s seemed like he’s scared to let it go far enough that he might leave marks on anyone since so…”

Ashes sighed.

That was. That was actually a relief to hear.

They hadn’t realized until Brian had explained how scared they’d been that someone on their crew might have ...assaulted Tim.

That wasn’t what had happened though.

They’d fucked up and forgotten to tell Tim to keep his biting away from the neck. And he was panicking over it now.

They could manage that.

Okay.

How to deal with that though? They knew full damn well that Tim liked biting. There was no reason why he couldn’t…

“Brian. Has Tim tried biting you?”

“A few times? Actually broke one of the gags you got me for Jonny.”

...those were supposed to be practically impossible to break. They had specifically gotten both themself and Brian a set of gags for him after he had decided to rip his cheeks open using the spider gag they picked up on Chixenope.

Not to mention the fact that Brian was _metal_.

Tim had tried biting their head board at one point as well.

…

“Brian...what do you think of the possibility that Tim may just bite? That it’s not intentional.”

There was a pause while Brian presumably thought it over.

“That...actually would make a lot of sense. He definitely seems startled some times when he bites down - whether it’s on someone or something.”

Ashes hummed. They would need to bring this up with Tim. Preferably in a way to make it clear that the biting was actually _encouraged_ when he was given permission.

Wait.

“Brian, dear. I do hope you weren’t counting yourself as a some _thing_ in that statement.”

There was no response for a moment.

Ashes sighed and started to pull back only to get a noise of complaint.

“I… don’t think so? I think I just didn’t include myself in my statement at all.”

There was a shift as they made Brian let go enough to lean back and look up at him.

They didn’t _like_ that he was apparently having issues counting himself as a person again, but at least it meant they had an excuse to cuddle him for a while before addressing the issue with Tim.

They’d _probably_ be fine if they just went ahead and found Tim to deal with it. They really didn’t want to have to admit that they spent a good half hour terrified that he’d been coerced into something he didn’t want though.

Better to just spend some time with Brian and deal with Tim once they’d put those issues back into the safe they belonged in.

“Brian…”

“I was thinking of Tim biting Jonny and biting the steering wheel! I didn’t stop to think about where I fit into that equation!”

Ashes hid a smile.

Even if Brian’s tendency to forget himself entirely was worrying, it was still endearing at times.

* * *

Tim came back to consciousness slowly.

Hir arms were stretched over hir head and to either side. He could feel the rope cutting into hir wrists slightly where it was holding them up. Hir legs were tied apart at a little more than shoulder width as well.

It sounded like he was in a large room. Someone was moving around it fairly quietly but they had heavy footsteps.

It sounded like… Brian?

He opened hir eyes and immediately choked.

Ashes was maybe ten feet away from hir, lounging sideways in what resembled a throne. They were also entirely naked.

Fuck. They were gorgeous as always.

He was fairly certain he whimpered. He wanted them to touch him so bad.

Maybe he could…

No. He couldn’t trust hirself. Until he could figure out how to not bite them he couldn’t risk trying to get anything more than a few kisses no matter how much he wanted more.

“Um. Am I in trouble or something?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me, dear. Ever since your little incident with Jonny I haven’t got a single request to play from you.”

...was Ashes mad at hir?

They didn’t ever show enough for hir to get a good read on them. He trusted them, but that didn’t mean he had a damn clue what they were thinking.

“Whereas I,” Brian’s voice came from behind hir and grew louder as he slowly circled around him, “only seem to get requests to play when you’re too desperate to function if you don’t get fucked. Now, neither of us have seen any signs that you’re not interested any longer - in fact it seems to us that you’re just as desperate as always. So I think you should explain yourself. Don’t you agree, Ashes?”

“Quite.”

Instead of continuing, Ashes got up and approached hir. Their hand came up to almost cup hir face.

Ze couldn’t help it. He turned hir face to nuzzle into their hand.

Their voice was quieter when they next spoke.

“All you have to do is say the word and we’ll let you down and drop it. You won’t ever have to deal with anyone on the crew asking you for sex again. I’ll make sure of it.”

“No!”

Tim flinched slightly. He hadn’t meant to be that loud.

Tension he hadn’t noticed flowed out of Ashes’s shoulders.

As they spoke, they ran a thumb over hir cheek. “I need you to tell me why you’ve been avoiding us then Timothy.”

He whined. Wasn’t it obvious?

“...Don’t wanna cause problems.”

They just raised a brow at hir.

“Brian and Jonny said that biting was off limits. I always end up biting. Can’t. Gotta stop ‘fore I can be good for you.”

Ashes sighed.

“Biting isn’t off limits, dear. This would have come up quite a bit sooner if that was an issue. We may have failed to discuss appropriate biting with you, but that doesn’t mean that it’s entirely off limits. I’m quite certain that Jonny’s rather distressed not to have any half-healed bite marks from you anymore.”

He whined as they dropped their hand and walked back to their throne.

They gave Brian a curt nod and he took their place in front of Tim.

Hir head was lifted so he was looking directly into Brian’s eyes.

“While we would prefer you stop, we can work with you.”

He couldn’t help but whine again. He wanted to get to touch them so much, he wanted to get to kiss them and be kissed in turn, he wanted everything they’d give hir.

A gag was moved in front of hir face.

“Jonny actually tries to bite Ashes more than you do, you know. We _do_ have gags. Just because you’ve managed to break a few doesn’t mean we can’t get more.”

His hold on Tim’s chin dropped as he tapped the metal against hir lips.

“Open.”

Tim dropped hir mouth open, well aware that there was no way he was going to be able to keep quiet. Even as Brian slid the gag into hir mouth, hir moans and whines were already starting to echo slightly in the room.

Once the gag was secured, Brian stepped back so that Ashes came into view again.

“Snap for me, dear.”

Tim obediently snapped twice.

They hummed. “Would you prefer I call you boy, pet, or something else? One, two, or three.”

He snapped twice for them again.

“Good pet.”

He shivered, a whimper clawing its way out of hir throat.

Ashes beckoned Brian to them and drew him down into a kiss.

Tim couldn’t hear the conversation that passed between them from hir position, but he assumed that it was planning whatever they were going to do to him.

After a moment, Brian straightened up.

“Start with the switch.” Ashes sounded almost bored. “I want to hear hir try to stay quiet.”

“Yes, ser.”

Brian’s path carried him past Tim and behind hir again.

He couldn’t help but whimper as he listened to the sound of Brian collecting the switch and walking back towards hir.

He gasped when he felt the boards against hir back and limbs move away, leaving hir suspended from what felt like free floating anchors. He knew they weren’t, but that didn’t change the sensation.

“Colour?”

He shivered when Brian’s voice brushed across hir shoulder.

Tim snapped three times in a quick succession.

Brian’s shirt felt rough as it dragged against hir back, before a soft kiss was pressed to hir shoulder.

“Since you decided not to ask either of us to play with you properly and hid for the past couple months instead of asking for help not causing trouble, you will have to be punished, pet.”

He whimpered. Ashes was a cruel master even if they were generous. He was going to cry for them before this was over.

“Start with fifty lashes, tesoro.”

There was a brief pause before Brian was stepping away with a murmur of “yes, ser.”

The whistle of the switch lasted barely a second before he felt the impact on hir left thigh. There was a brief pause before the pain bloomed and he whimpered.

_One._

He could hear Brian pacing back and forth behind hir for a long moment before _two,_ against the right side of hir back. _Three_ against the back of hir right thigh, just above the knee. _Four_ , stinging across hir left shoulder.

On _five,_ snapping up right where hir ass met hir thigh, he let out a whine.

"Good boy. Keep making hir sound like that, tesoro."

He watched as Ashes's hand trailed down their chest towards their clit. They traced around it as they locked eyes with hir.

“Look at you,” they murmured. Their voice was barely loud enough that he could hear it. “You’re being such a good pet for us now aren’t you, Tim? Taking your punishment so well.”

He whined louder.

He wanted to be good for them. Most of the time at least. He didn’t mean to bite. He just _did_.

_Snap!_

He gasped as the switch slammed into hir ass.

Ashes began playing with themself as they continued telling hir how well he was taking hir punishment.

The sting of the switch slowly turned to a fading burn as Brian laid line after line into hir. By the time they reached fifty Tim was choking back tears as much as moans.

As Brian walked away, presumably to put the switch away, Ashes stood up and sauntered over to hir. Their hand laid flat on hir stomach was such a stark contrast to the stinging back criss-crossing hir back that he cried out.

Gently they slid it up hir chest to wrap loosely around hir throat. “Colour?”

He snapped three times for them.

They hummed in reply. “Brian, dear? Grab the vibrolash.”

He whimpered.

“Do you think you can take another fifty, _fiammifero_?”

He shook hir head, snapping once for them.

“No more or is fifty just too many? One, two.”

He snapped twice.

He wanted to take hir punishment like a good pet. Another fifty was just too much. He’d be sobbing by twenty he thought.

Ashes hummed again for a moment, considering. “How does twenty-five sound?”

Tim whined. That was still too many.

“Want you sobbing before I fuck you, pet. Do you think you can take twenty-five and cry all pretty for me?”

Oh. That was the point.

He could do that.

He nodded, snapping twice. He was still whining though.

“Good pet. Such a lovely slut for me. Taking your punishment so well.”

He moaned.

Instead of continuing to tell hir how good he was, they stepped away though.

“Tim gets another twenty-five with the vibrolash, then I want you to get hir ready for me to fuck. Understood, _tesoro?”_

“Yes, ser.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
>  _tesoro_ -> Italian term of endearment, lit. treasure. Used similarly to pet or dear in English  
>  _fiammifero_ -> Italian meaning matchstick, Ashes's term of endearment for specifically Tim
> 
> If I missed any content warnings feel free to let me know and I'll add them.
> 
> Quick Comments Reaction Code (basically, react using these and it acts as an auto comment button):  
> ❤️️ = I love this story!  
> 😳 = this was hot!  
> 💐 = thank you for sharing this  
> 🍵 = tea spilled  
> 🍬 = so sweet and fluffy!  
> 🚔 = you’re under arrest! the writing’s too good!  
> 😲 = I NEED THE NEXT CHAPTER  
> 😢 = you got me right in the feels  
> 🤯 = mind blown  
> 🤬 = god damn cliffhanger  
> 😫 = whyyyyyyy?!?!?  
> (Thanks to violetsmoak for the comment code)


	4. Returning Gags

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim's been given some leeway on the gags recently, biting Brian won't get hir pushed the was he wants though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Content Warnings:  
> \- heavy dom/sub  
> \- severe impact play, unsafe for mortals  
> \- mildly graphic description of impact play and subsequent wounds  
> \- implied/referenced mild main play  
> \- biting, marking

Brian checked over the gag slowly.

Tim couldn’t help squirming as he watched.

He couldn’t decide if he was happy or upset over the return of the gags.

He certainly appreciated that he didn’t have to worry about biting when he had one in, but he also liked the gags being used to shut hir up rather than restrain hir mouth.

He didn’t _mean_ to bite. He _knew_ that Brian didn’t like having to pick bits of hir teeth out of himself.

He still ended up biting most of the times Brian trusted hir to keep hir mouth to hirself though, and Brian had trusted hir _a lot_ lately. Which of course meant a return of the gags when he got tired of picking teeth out of himself.

"I know you like being able to tell me how good you feel, dear. I really do enjoy listening to you as well. You just can't seem to learn how to not bite. So I'm gonna help you out with that."

Brian gently cupped hir face when he crossed over to hir. His thumb gently brushed across Tim's lips before resting just long enough to drag hir mouth open.

Tim whined.

“That's it, darling. You just have to keep making such pretty noises for me. I’m gonna give you a little help so you don’t even have to worry about biting. Open wide for me.”

Tim opened hir mouth so Brian could put the gag in. Despite hirself, he had to moan when the thick dildo hit the back of hir throat.

It didn't matter if he bit or not now. The silicone would give enough that he didn't leave bits of teeth behind. The slight stretch from hir mouth being held so open was enough to already be sending gentle sparks down hir jaw.

"There you go. So nice and pretty with your lips wrapped around a cock." Brian locked the gag in place with a soft click. "Can you snap for me, dear?"

Tim gave him three quick snaps.

"Good boy."

Brian ran a hand through Tim's hair for a moment, gently untangling the strands. Without warning he twisted his hand to seize a handful and used it to haul Tim to hir feet.

Tim gasped as best he could around the gag. The brief pain went straight to hir cock.

Brian didn’t even acknowledge the noises Tim made as he dragged hir to the desk and threw hir over it.

He hit the top of the desk hard.

The cool press of metal against hir chest, the sharp dig against hir hip, the ache in hir scalp, it all felt so good. He was already moaning by the time Brian kicked hir legs apart and began to tie them to the base of the desk. The gentle sweep of too-warm hands up hir legs to knead hir ass had hir whining again. The drag of the rope against hir wrists as Brian bound them together above hir head had hir squirming, desperate for something.

“Look at you. Such a pretty slut for me to ruin. Already so desperate for me to fuck you.”

Tim whimpered.

Brian’s hand tangled in hir hair again and tilted hir head back at an almost painful angle. Even with Brian crouching, Tim was still looking up at him.

Brian’s fingers dancing along Tim’s lips, stretched around the gag. “You know, you’ve been a very naughty boy these last few weeks, Tim. I can forgive the biting, that’s on me for letting you keep control of your mouth. That’s hardly the only misbehavior I’ve had to deal with from you though, is it?”

Tim shuddered. He knew that the way he’d been acting was going to get hir punished. That was the _point_. He couldn’t help the curl of shame in hir chest as Brian’s disappointment was laid out for him.

“Constantly wondering the ship half-dressed, teasing whoever’s watching as you eat, fucking yourself without permission, fucking others without permission, relly just acting like an absolute slut that isn’t being taken care off. I _know_ that we’re taking care of you, dear. What I don’t know is why you insist on acting like we don’t.”

Brian pressed a gentle kiss to the side of Tim’s mouth before standing up and moving back behind hir. He trailed a hand down Tim’s back as he moved, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

“I’ll have to punish you for your behavior now. I think a hundred lashes is a good place to start, don’t you?”

Tim whimpered.

There were several moments of silence before a sharp whistling noise.

Pain lit up across Tim’s ass, the sting of several open wounds warring with the dull burn of nine distinct stripes for hir attention.

The cry Tim made was muffled by the cock filling hir mouth.

The second strike hurt even worse, lighting up just off enough from the first that the pain was distinct.

The third was laid across hir right thigh. The fourth, hir left. The fifth curls up hir ass and onto hir lower back. The sixth crossed the third on hir right thigh. The seven caught hir hip. The eighth struck exactly over the first. The ninth was laid directly onto hir back.

By the tenth he was crying.

By the twentieth he was sobbing. By the thirtieth he was thankful for the desk. By the fortieth he was screaming.

Fifty had hir knees buckling.

Sixty had hir sobbing again. Seventy had hir shaking. Eighty had hir moaning. Ninety had hir keening.

As the hundredth strike laid across hir already profusely bleeding ass, Tim fell completely limp. He was only barely held up by the desk and even then only because he was draped across it far enough that hir arms were hanging mostly off the other side.

Brian wasn’t cruel enough to run a hand up hir back as he circled back around Tim. He was cruel enough to push hir head up with the bloodied cat under hir chin though.

“There now, dear one. That wasn’t so bad was it? You took your punishment quite well.”

He ran a hand through Tim’s hair, lightly petting hir as he did so.

“I’m going to take the gag out for a little bit now, dear. I want you to take a moment to stretch your jaw out and then you’re going to tell me your colour.”

Brian’s fingers found the clasp at the back of Tim’s head without much difficulty. There was a quiet click as the gag unlocked. Another still moment as Brian trailed his hand back around to Tim’s face, still held up by the cat under hir chin.

The dildo was slowly eased out of hir mouth and set to the side, Brian’s hand returning to cup Tim’s chin as he tried, and failed, to work the ache out of it. Brian gently rubbed his thumb against the right hinge, right where the ache was always the worst.

“G-g-g-r-r-ee-en.” Tim’s words came out in a broken stutter. “N-no m-m-or-ore h-h-i-i-i-t-t-t-ttin-ing th-th-ou-ough.”

“No more hitting. You took your punishment very well and we’re done now. You get to make a choice though. I can clean you up and we’ll cuddle for a bit or I can fuck you first.”

Tim thought about it.

It was hard to keep hir thoughts together enough to make a decision. He didn’t think he could handle Brian touching hir back or ass or thighs right now. He really wanted to be fucked though.

“F-f-fu-u-uck me-e?”

“Of course, dear heart. I just needed to make sure you wanted me to still.”

Brian pressed a gentle kiss to hir lips before the dildo was being pushed into hir mouth again. A quiet snap accompanied the gag being locked into place. Brian’s hand pet hir hair for a few moments longer.

“Hmm. Let’s get your hair out of the way, dear. I’d hate for it to get ruined by the blood.”

Tim whined, the press of the dildo against the back of hir throat threatening to make him gag.

Brian’s hands were gentle as they carded through Tim’s hair, drawing it up and knotting it into a loose bun. “There we go, darling. Now your pretty locks will stay nice and clean, hmm?”

Tim just whimpered.

Brian pressed his lips to Tim’s hairline briefly before standing.

Tim was left adrift without Brian’s hands on hir. He didn’t know how long he lay there, bleeding sluggishly from the wounds littered across hir body. It could have been seconds as easily as days.

A hand rested on the back of hir neck briefly, signalling Brian’s return.

“This is going to sting a bit, honey. Try not to thrash for me.”

That was the only warning Tim got before something was set on hir back that _burned_. He screamed, of course, and thrashed. It didn’t let up though.

Once he’d exhausted hirself again, he went limp. It took a few seconds but he was able to recognize it as having been a cool liquid.

“I know, honey. It hurts. We need to get these cleaned or else they’ll get infected though.”

Tim could only whimper as Brian brought a rag up to begin washing the blood from hir shoulder. The burn and pain was enough to have hir sobbing by the time Brian finished.

There was another still moment after Brian removed the cloth before hir other shoulder lit on fire as the cleaning solution, water, whatever it was, landed on it.

Tim screamed again.

Again, he sobbed hir way through having hir shoulder washed and was given a moment’s reprieve when Brian deemed it clean. Again, he screamed as liquid that burned was poured onto hir bleeding back and sobbed as it was washed and whimpered as Brian cleaned the rag. And again, and again, and again.

Over and over until Brian had worked his way not only down hir back but down hir legs as well. By the time he was done, Tim couldn’t even scream, hir voice gone so hoarse.

“There you go, dear one. All nice and clean now.”

Brian’s voice was the only thing keeping Tim tethered to the ship. Without the soft murmur telling hir how good he was being, he would have floated off before Brian had finished washing his shoulders.

There was some shuffling and the sound of a quiet pop. Tim didn’t bother trying to keep track of the noises, just relaxed hir jaw and sucked on the cock filling hir mouth.

He whined as a warm hand gripped hir asscheek and pulled it to the side.

_It hurt._

“Shh,” Brian shushed. “It’s alright, darling. I’ve got you.”

There was a soft touch against hir rim, circling gently for a few minutes until he whined again, trying to press back. Brian laughed, but pressed in slowly.

Tim shuddered and moaned. Even with how much it _hurt_ , how hir back and thighs and ass all cried out and burned and bled, Brian starting to open hir up felt so good. The pain only enhanced the pleasure, juxtaposed against as they were.

With how much the beating and subsequent cleaning had hir floating, Tim couldn’t have begun to tell how long he spent like that, bent over a metal desk, held in place by the weight of hir bound arms on one side and the ropes holding hir legs spread apart on the other, Brian’s fingers, slowly, methodically taking hir apart.

By the time Brian finally deigned him ready, Tim was sobbing again, four thick fingers working hard against hir prostate long enough that he’d have been begging to come if he could.

It must have been at least an hour since Brian didn’t aggravate still bleeding wounds when he leaned over Tim to press a kiss to the side of hir neck. “There you go, my love. That’s better isn’t it?”

Tim could only nod, hir voice gone. Whether he’d finally lost it or it’d simply given out as Brian finally pressed into hir, was anyone’s guess.

Brian’s pace was slow, thrusting deep and lingering for a moment as he slowly worked his way up Tim’s neck.

Small mewling noises managed to claw their way out of Tim’s throat. Hir world was confined to the feel of Brian pressed against hir back keeping the bruises left by the lashing in Tim’s mind, to the feel of his lips trailing across hir neck and leaving new bruises that wouldn’t last half as long as Tim wanted them to, to the feel of Brian’s cock in hir splitting hir apart and holding hir together.

Tim was kept suspended in that moment for what could just as easily have been years as it could have been minutes. Held fast, a toy as much as a treasured pet for Brian to use as he pleased, until he was pressed to the actual literal edge and couldn’t hold back any longer.

He tipped over with a silent cry, held down by the weight of Brian over him.

* * *

Tim was still conscious as Brian began untying hir and cleaning him off. Probably. He wasn’t present though.

Distantly, very distantly he could feel Brain’s hands on hir, could hear Brian’s voice, soft and sweet between them, as he was praised, told how good of a slut he was. By the time he was present enough to actually try responding to Brian with more than slight automatic whines, he was already bandaged and dressed in soft clothing.

“I’m going to take the gag out now, darling.”

Tim wasn’t entirely happy to have the gag taken away. As much as he didn’t like needing them, he did very much enjoy having hir mouth filled like it was. He whined.

“I know, dear. We’re done now and it needs to come out though. I have a chew toy that you can after it’s out.”

As Brian spoke he unlocked the gag and gently pulled it out. Hir other hand was pressing a firm pendant into Tim’s hand and bringing it up to hir mouth.

Tim didn’t bother arguing. It may have taken a while after the chew toys were first brought up, but by now he’d gotten the habit of accepting the alternative during aftercare even if he still disliked being handed one at other times.

It was a very nice pendant too. Must have been a new one since he didn’t recognize the texture when he ran hir tongue over it.

He glanced up when he felt Brian begin shaking.

It took a moment for Brian to notice hir staring in question. When he did he looked down at Tim with a grin though.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. But really, dear heart?”

Tim followed Brian’s eyes to the dildo he was holding up...that was nearly bitten in half.

Hir cheeks felt very warm.

He let out a squeak and turned to bury hir face in Brian’s chest. He would...think about that later. For now he had a chew toy and was getting cuddles and had been beaten until he couldn’t even cry and fucked and life was good.

He’d be annoyed at hirself for still not being able to resist biting when he wasn’t told to or given permission tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I missed any content warnings feel free to let me know and I'll add them.
> 
> Quick Comments Reaction Code (basically, react using these and it acts as an auto comment button):  
> ❤️️ = I love this story!  
> 😳 = this was hot!  
> 💐 = thank you for sharing this  
> 🍵 = tea spilled  
> 🍬 = so sweet and fluffy!  
> 🚔 = you’re under arrest! the writing’s too good!  
> 😲 = I NEED THE NEXT CHAPTER  
> 😢 = you got me right in the feels  
> 🤯 = mind blown  
> 🤬 = god damn cliffhanger  
> 😫 = whyyyyyyy?!?!?  
> (Thanks to violetsmoak for the comment code)


End file.
